The first estate¹ for God's spirit children began after their spirit birth in heaven.² In this context, heaven is where God the Father resides³ in his celestial kingdom⁴ on a glorified and resurrected physical world.⁵ The glory of God's celestialized world is like a burning fire.⁶ His resurrected physical world in heaven is frequently called the spirit world because God's children were born on his resurrected world with spirit bodies.⁷ God's children were pure and innocent when they were born as spirits.⁸ Therefore, they could live with their Heavenly Parents in God's celestial kingdom,⁹ where no unclean thing can enter.¹⁰

The initial period of the first estate for God's children is measured from the time of their spirit creation until the premortal grand council in heaven was convened. This initial stage of the premortal first estate probably lasted for eons of time.¹¹ In this initial period, God's spirit children were reared to maturity in his presence on the world of his glorified residence.¹² The spirit children of God were taught the truths of the gospel¹³ that would lead to their exaltation.¹⁴ They had agency to make choices.¹⁵ However, they were as little children in mortal life who sometimes make wrong choices, but cannot sin¹⁶ until they become accountable¹⁷ for those choices.¹⁸ Therefore, sin did not exist in heaven during the initial period of the first estate because God's spirit children were not yet accountable for the choices they made.¹⁹

Accountability began in the first estate at the time of the grand council in heaven²⁰ when the gospel was instituted with a covenant²¹ among all God's spirit children.²² All God's spirit children were present together and attended the grand council so that each would be on equal footing as they chose to accept or reject the gospel.²³ When the Father instituted gospel law during the grand council,²⁴ his children received this law and its blessings by covenant.²⁵ Once gospel law was instituted by God during the grand council, Lucifer and the many other spirits that followed him were fully accountable to God as they used their agency²⁶ to reject the gospel and to rebel against the Father.²⁷

God had the foreknowledge to know that Lucifer and others would rebel during the grand council.²⁸ God also knew that Lucifer's rebellion would introduce sin and uncleanness in heaven²⁹ among God's spirit children.³⁰ Knowing this, God convened the grand council on the spirit world called Kolob³¹ that was created near the throne of God‒but separate from‒God's glorified residence.³² By convening the grand council on Kolob, God insured that his celestial kingdom did not become polluted by the evils introduced by Lucifer during the grand council, and from the evils that persisted throughout the war in heaven that came after the grand council.³³

The fall of Lucifer on Kolob ended the sinless environment of the first estate,³⁴ much like the fall of Adam³⁵ ended the sinless environment in the Garden of Eden.³⁶ Just as Adam and Eve could no longer be in God's presence after their fall on earth, so God's spirit children could no longer be in God's presence in his celestial kingdom when Lucifer fell.³⁷ Therefore, God the Father and Jehovah‒who remained perfect and innocent during and after the grand council‒both withdrew from the uncleanness of Kolob to dwell on God's celestial residence.³⁸ Kolob remained a sinful and fallen world of spirit until the war in heaven ended and Kolob once again became a clean and sinless environment through the anticipated atonement of Jesus Christ.³⁹